Emerging from the ashes
by ML683
Summary: Four members of the team find themselves in danger when the building they are in explodes. They find themselves trapped, and alone as everything crumbles around them. Will they all survive the blast?
1. Chapter 1

Dust billowed around the dark room, making it impossible to see more than a few metres in any direction. The distinct roar of fire could be heard, burning furiously close by. Smoke from the fire eased effortlessly into adjoining rooms, making the air thick and dangerous. The heat was intense and unrelenting, making the whole room take on a hazy, dreamlike state. Initially crashes could be heard as structures gave way and the rubble fell, but after a few minutes everything stilled.

_I am too old for this_ Rossi thought, slowly bringing his hand up to his face, wiping sweat of his forehead. He felt something wet and sticky on his face, pulling his arm down he looked at his hand, it was covered in blood. _Well shit. _Rossi examined his arm closer and saw that the blood was coming from a deep gash on his arm. It wasn't too bad, by now the blood flow had already started to slow, but it would definitely need stitches.

_Okay, first things first. Assess the damage. _Rossi's whole body ached, but he needed to know if he had sustained any serious injuries. Cautiously Rossi brought his other arm up and extended it slowly. It was a bit sore but no major damage he noted, stretching the limb. One of his fingers stuck out at an odd angle and throbbed dully, but that was it. Next he patted over his chest, feeling for any indication of broken ribs. When there was no sign of injury he sat up slowly, propping himself up on his elbows before grabbing onto a nearby pile of rubble for support to sit up fully. He looked down at his legs, noticing that they were half buried under a pile of rubble.

Rossi began pushing the rubble of his buried legs, in the process creating a massive dust storm around him. He coughed heavily, struggling to catch his breath. The dust and smoke were starting to affect his lungs he noted as his breathing began slightly more laboured. After what felt like hours Rossi had managed to unbury his legs, sweat dripping down his body at the effort. Again he repeated the process of assessing his limbs, slowly stretching them out and pulling them back into his chest, rotating his ankles in small circles. With huge relief Rossi found that his legs were uninjured, he had come through the explosion a little worse for wear but on the whole, in good shape.

The heat was almost unbearable now, the smoke in the room growing thicker, like a blanket suffocating the room. Rossi knew that he needed to move, soon. Smoke inhalation could be deadly. And he had every intention of making it out of this alive. For the first time Rossi's mind wandered to his fellow agents. Thankfully, two of them had been checking out another location and Garcia was safely tucked up in her cyber lair, but that still left three others somewhere in this building. Rossi knew that he had been extremely lucky to have survived the blast with only minor injuries, had the others been as lucky?

Gingerly Rossi got to his feet, not liking how much the simple act had wiped him out. Sure he wasn't injured to badly, but his whole body ached and he was exhausted. Taking a step, he stumbled and almost fell back onto the floor. Luckily regained his balance and was able to remain on his feet. He took a moment to catch his breath before heading through to the next room over, where the air looked slightly clearer, searching for his fellow teammates.


	2. Chapter 2

"Where is he? Where's Declan?"

Pain, like she'd never felt before, shooting through her body.

"Emily, tell me. Where is he? Emily tell me where he is." Ian whispered urgently to her, his piercing blue eyes piercing.

"No" she breathed, her vision blurring.

Emily lay in the shadowed room, her whole body battered and broken. Leaning over her she saw him, Doyle, begging for the location of his son. Prentiss looked into his eyes, she had forgotten how intense his gaze was. She was cold, and her eyelids were drooping, she was desperately trying to remain conscious but she didn't know how much longer she could last. Ian continued to beg for his son's location. Funny Emily thought, she had been so afraid of him, of what would happen when he caught up with her. But she just felt tired now.

Emily's eyes closed against her will and when she looked up again he had vanished, she looked around weakly, he had been sat right in front of her seconds ago. Distantly she heard new voice calling to her but it was disjointed and faded, unable to reach her. Emily knew that voice, it promised safety and protection, if only she could reach him. But she was too weak, Emily's eyes fluttered once more before she gave up and drifted into oblivion.

Emily awoke again, she was still lying in the shadowed room, completely alone. _No this isn't what happened. Morgan found me; I was rushed to the hospital. I wasn't abandoned. _But as she looked around there was no Morgan, no help coming. Emily had never felt more alone. Slowly, memories seeped to the forefront of Emily's mind. Doyle was dead. Declan was safe. She had rejoined the team, happy to be back with her family. They had gone out on a raid, searching the warehouse where they believed a suspect was hiding. And then, nothing.

Emily looked around, comforted by the fact that Ian Doyle was dead, that she was not at his mercy. But she still felt uneasy at the parallels in the situation, she was lying alone, broken in a cold dark room, praying that someone would find her soon. _NO, I am not broken. I am not a victim and I will survive this, like I did before _Emily thought fiercely, a newfound sense of determination pumping through her body.

Emily's mind began to clear, and with it a throbbing pain in her right thigh that in a few seconds became almost overwhelming. She tried to sit up without moving her legs so she could assess the damage, but that was easier said than done. Every slight jostle of her body made the wound flair up, and Emily thought she might pass out from the pain. Finally Emily had managed to get into a sitting position, but when she looked down at her leg her stomach rolled. She turned her head to the side, throwing up what little she had in her stomach, causing her throat to burn and leaving a rancid taste in her mouth.

_C'mon Emily, toughen up. _She thought to herself, and made herself look at her leg again. Jutting out from her leg was a jagged piece of metal, it had gone completely through her leg, pinning her to the ground. The wound was bleeding heavily, the skin around it looking scorched and shredded.

_Oh god, oh god this isn't happening, _Emily thought desperately, her breath hitching in her chest. Sobs broke through her tough exterior as she looked at her damaged leg, completely overwhelmed. Hopelessness coursed through her like a poison, _I'm going to die here_ she thought despairingly as she watched the steady flow of blood pump out of her body.

**I hope you liked this chapter, let me know what you think **


	3. Chapter 3

_Godammit that hurt_ Morgan thought as he slowly came round. He looked around quickly, taking in the situation. His right hand leapt to his hip, unholstering his gun. It was very unlikely that the unsub would stick around after the explosion but Morgan wasn't about to take that risk. He scanned the room he was in, his gun extended in front of him. When he was satisfied the room was clear, he lowered his gun, placing on the floor next to him where he could grab it quickly if need be.

Morgan looked down at himself, he was covered in grey dust, and there were a couple of rips in his trousers, but other than that he was in good shape. His left shoulder ached dully; Moran tried to move his left arm but stopped abruptly when pain shot down his arm, he had a dislocated shoulder. He briefly considered trying to put in back into place himself, but decided against it. He'd just have to be careful of that arm.

Morgan got to his feet slowly, wincing slightly at his sore body. _Be grateful, it could have been a lot worse_ he thought harshly, as he considered his next move. A low buzzing caught his attention; he looked around confused for the source of the noise. _Gotcha_ he thought triumphantly as he saw his cell phone lying on the ground a couple of metres from him. Without even bothering to look at the caller Morgan answered the phone.

"DERECK MORGAN FINALLY YOU ANSWER YOUR PHONE!" Garcia shouted down the phone at him before he could get a word in edgeways. "I HAVE TRIED CALLING YOU SEVEN TIMES, DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA HOW WORRIED I HAVE BEEN?" Morgan chuckled slightly, it was good to hear her voice, before he remembered the situation at hand.

"Garcia listen to me" he said urgently down the phone, instantly Garcia was quiet "I need you to send paramedics, fire-fighters, anyone you can, got it?"

"Ambulances? Wha- what happened?" Garcia asked, her voice laced with worry.

"The building blew up." Morgan said bluntly.

"Oh god, oh god. The others, are they okay?"

"I don't know yet sweetness" Morgan replied honestly. He hung up the phone after promising to bring the rest of the team home safely. He leaned down to grab his gun from the floor where he had left it, not liking the jolt of pain that ran through his shoulder as he did.

Morgan's mind wandered to his teammates who were somewhere in the building. He knew he had been miraculously lucky to have sustained so few injuries, but the same might not be true for the others. _They could already be dead_ the dark voice in his head whispered, reliving for the thousandth time the moments when he found Emily bleeding from the stab wound to her abdomen. The guilt that had boiled up within him when he was told she was dead, if only he had been there faster. _Snap out of it, Emily is fine. She didn't die, we found her in time, _he thought, pushing the dark voice to the back of his mind. Standing here, thinking about what ifs wouldn't help his team right now.

Morgan staggered out of the room he as in, his gun held in his outstretched right arm, he headed to the left side of the building, where he knew Rossi had headed after they entered together.

He headed further into the building, feeling more and more desperate every time he looked in a room and found it empty. Slowly, he became aware of the air becoming thicker, and the heat rising. Finally he saw it, vicious fire burning at the end of the corridor he currently stood in. Sweat fell down Morgan's forehead as he slowly walked closer, hoping desperately that none of the team were stuck in the burning room.


	4. Chapter 4

Spencer Reid lay on his stomach, unmoving. Half of his face lay on the hard ground; the other half was covered in blood. He lay amongst a large pile of rubble, one particularly big piece of concrete lay a few feet from him, where it had bounced after hitting the young doctor on the head. It was smeared with blood.

Dark smoke wafted silently into the room, creeping into his lungs, poisoning him. Distantly fire was burning ferociously, inching closer to the unconscious man. Occasionally bricks from the partially collapsed roof would break free, hitting the ground and churning up dust.

Slowly Reid began to return to consciousness; he blinked hard to clear grit from his eyes. For several minutes he couldn't even move, the pounding in his head was intense and overwhelming, it consumed his every thought. Without even realising what was happening he vomited on the ground next to him.

Slowly, he sat up, bringing his knees into his chest and holding his hands over his head, desperately trying to find some relief from the unrelenting pain in his head. He realised with a jolt of fear that his left hand that had been held next to his head felt warm and sticky, bringing it down to look at he saw that his hand was drenched in blood. He gently probed his head; his hair was clinging to his head where it had been soaked with blood. He tried to search his mind for information on how to treat a head wound but came up blank. He frowned, completely confused, he had an eidetic memory; he should know what to do. But his mind felt like a void, he couldn't focus on anything, he couldn't think, everything was just a massive confusing mess.

Reid looked around desperately. _Where am I? What happened? _He thought, looking for something familiar that would tell him where he was, but there was nothing. Slowly he got to his feet, his muscles aching in protest. Once on his feet a rush of nausea passed through him, causing him to double over and vomit again. His vision began to blur, and Reid thought he might pass out. He looked ahead of him, looking at the flecks of dust floating through the air, focusing completely on them, trying to remain on his feet. Gradually his vision returned to normal and he looked around the room he was in. It was quite large, with two entrances. There were piles of rubble littered across the room, and it was quite bright. Reid looked up, part of the ceiling had collapsed and the sun was shining into the room, illuminating the spaces in its reach, casting unreachable areas into dark shadow. Reid looked between the two doors, he had no idea which one he had entered from. At random he picked a door and made for the exit. His feet felt unsteady beneath him and he found that he was unable to walk strait, instead he stumbled all over the place.

His foot caught rock and the world spun around him. Seconds later Reid looked around, he was on the floor, unsure of how he had gotten there. He grabbed a brick that lay close to him and threw it as hard as he could, utterly frustrated. He felt betrayed by his body, it had completely given out. He tried to search his mind for answers to the situation he was in but again came up empty. Although he wouldn't admit it, he was deeply afraid, his mind had always been his greatest asset but now it was failing him.

**Thanks for reading, and thanks for the lovely reviews. Let me know what you thought of this latest chapter **


	5. Chapter 5

Garcia sat at her office chair, the fuzzy animals that surrounded her doing nothing to abate her panic. She had just gotten off the phone with Morgan; he'd told her that there'd be an explosion. He didn't know the status of the rest of the team. This truly was her worst nightmare; she always worried for the team when they were in the field so out of her reach. She pushed back the panic and focused on her tasks, getting them help. She called the local police, the fire department, ambulances, bomb squad, anyone that she could get hold of was on their way to help her babies. Lastly she dialled the very familiar number, after two rings he picked up.

"Hotchner"

"Sir it's the team, they're in trouble" Garcia blurted out, not knowing how to tell him. Tears slid down her face, she hated not knowing what was happening to them.

"Garcia, what's happened?" Hotch replied with urgency

"Th- the warehouse they were checking out, there was bomb and..."Garcia trailed off, truthfully she didn't know much more than that. Hotch inhaled sharply.

"Have you heard from any of the team?" He asked, remaining professional.

"Morgan phoned me and told me to send help, he said he wasn't hurt but I don't know anything about the others"

"Okay, me and JJ are done here, we'll be there as soon as we can." He answered before hanging up. Garcia grabbed her bag and coat and ran out of her office, almost tripping over her high heels. She had notified everyone of the situation and sent help, now she headed over herself, needing to see that her friends would b all right.

"Rossi?" Morgan shouted, relief shooting through him as he saw the older agent. Morgan had been stalking closer to the fire, checking each room, when the older man had stumbled out into the corridor coughing heavily. Rossi doubled over, struggling to draw breath. His eyes were watering and his face was black with soot. Morgan ran over and grabbed him by the arm, pulling him down the corridor where the air was clearer. Finally Rossi was able to draw a clean breath and looked up at Morgan with questioning eyes.

"You hurt?" he asked, looking Morgan over.

"Dislocated shoulder, nothing serious, you?" Morgan replied. Rossi shook his head as another coughing fit wracked his body.

"The others?" Rossi asked, his forehead creased in concern. Morgan shook his shoulders, continuing to walk further away from the fire.

"I talked to Garcia, she's sending help" Morgan told Rossi. Rossi absorbed the information but didn't reply.

Rossi watched Morgan run awkwardly for a few a moments, his left arm hanging uselessly by his side before Rossi called for him to stop.

"We need to fix that" Rossi said, pointing to the damaged shoulder. Morgan nodded, the shoulder had been causing him a lot of pain.

"You think you can put it back into place?" Morgan asked, not wanting for Rossi to do more damage to his injured limb. Rossi nodded. He placed his hands on Morgan, ready to fix his shoulder.

"On three" Rossi told Morgan. Morgan braced himself, knowing that this would be very painful.

"One, two, there" Rossi said as he pushed the arm back into place. Morgan's face screwed up in pain. After a few seconds the pain had passed and his shoulder felt much better, he was able to move his arm. Morgan smiled gratefully at Rossi before continuing on their search.

"Reid and Prentiss entered from the back, they must be this way" Morgan told Rossi breaking into a jog. As they jogged through the crumbling building, they called out to their missing teammates, their concern growing every minute that they received no reply.


	6. Chapter 6

Emily felt weak. Just remaining conscious seemed to take a lot of effort, she wanted nothing more than to lie town and close her eyes, but she knew if she did she may never open her eyes again. She held both her hands around the piece of metal in her leg, trying to stop the bleeding. She had gotten a hold of her emotions, now she was just weary. She didn't even feel the pain in her leg much anymore; it just tinged at the edge of her mind. She tried desperately to feel the pain, just so she had something to hold onto, but there was nothing.

Emily looked down at the blood that had pooled around her leg, it seemed massive. _How much blood can you lose before it's fatal? _She wondered, feeling completely detached from her perilous situation. _Reid would know, _she thought, a small smiling pulling at her lips. Her smile turned into a frown, she was worried about Reid. He was still angry at JJ and herself, she knew he wouldn't bring it up again for the sake of the team, but she knew. Emily sat pondering the situation, _maybe me and JJ should spend some time with him, a DVD night or something_, Emily thought until the blood she was surrounded in caught her eye again. _Here I am planning a DVD night that I might not even be alive for. _

Morgan and Rossi reached the end of the corridor they were currently in, it branched off in two directions. They stopped and looked at each other for a second, silently agreeing their plan. Without a word Morgan turned left and Rossi right.

Moran quickened his pace, he knew he was running on pure adrenaline and soon he would crash, but not before he found his friends. The first two rooms he scanned were empty; he turned into the third room when he saw a figure hunched on the ground.

"Reid!" he cried, running over and dropping to his knees in front of him. _Shit_ he thought looking Reid over, he was in bad shape. His hair was matted with blood, which was also smeared across his face.

Reid looked up when someone shouted from the doorway, then ran across the room to sit very close to him. He stared at the man for a second, he recognised him but he couldn't place him. The man looked at Reid, his eyes full of concern.

"Kid, you all right?" Morgan asked, completely thrown by Reid's behaviour. He just sat there staring at Moran with his puppy dog eyes full of confusion. Morgan looked closer at Reid, seeing one of his pupils was huge whilst the other was very small.

_Kid, you alright?_ The words bounced around Rieds head as he struggled to find some meaning in them. He could feel it, the knowledge of who this man was just out of reach.

"C'mon pretty boy, answer me" Morgan demanded, finding Reid's silence unnerving.

_Morgan gave him a whistle, teasing him for failing his gun qualification. Telling him about how bad the bullying at school was. Freaking out in the elevator together. Morgan helping him to talk to Austin. Confiding in Morgan about his headaches. Helping him confront his dad, and solve the case that had been following him since his childhood. Their practical joke war. _All of these memories and more hit Reid at once, completely overwhelming his fragile mind. He screwed his eyes shut, trying to stop the images flashing through his head. Finally Reid felt in control of himself again. Reid's stomach dropped, fear at how long it had taken him to remember his best friend.

"Morgan?" he asked quietly, needing conformation that his mind wasn't playing tricks on him.

Morgan nodded his head seriously, his body rigid with unease. Reid hadn't recognised him straight away, his pupils were uneven, he was very confused and Morgan had just noticed his speech was slurred. All the signs of a very serious head injury.

**Thanks so much for reading. Please review **


	7. Chapter 7

**Hi, sorry for the late update. Hope you enjoy this chapter, let me know what you think**

Emily had given up trying to sit up, given up trying to stop the bleeding. She was too weak; she could barely keep her eyes open. She lay on her back, staring up at the ceiling. She pretended that she was laying on the beach, staring up at the bright blue sky. She could almost feel the breeze pulling at her hair, and the sun on her skin. Emily loved the beach, one of her favourite childhood memories had happened at the beach; she was six and living a country that she couldn't even pronounce. Her mother had taken a day of and taken Emily to the beach, her usually stern face joyous as she played with a young Emily in the water. They'd made sandcastles and eaten ice cream; it had been perfect.

Emily returned to the present completely dazed. Distantly she could hear her name being called. Emily's eyes widened, _they're coming, they're going to find me!_ She thought, hope flaring up within her. She just needed to hold on. She tried to shout out but her voice was too feeble, they would never be able to hear her. Emily looked around desperately, trying to find something that would help them find her location. An idea struck her, she grabbed a handful of rocks that lay next to her and threw them at the metal door that stood a few feet away from her. The first rock fell short of its target, unable to put enough energy behind the throw. This small movement left her feeling sluggish, and Emily's arm fell back to the ground.

_No, I can do this _Emily thought resolutely, aiming again for the door. Her newfound resolve seemed to pay off, the rock rebounded of the door with a harsh clang. Emily continued to throw stones at the door, trying desperately to attract the attention of whoever was looking for her.

JJ stared out the window of the SUV she was in, currently going way over the speed limit. Worry was gnawing at her; she had been in this situation too any times. Watching Spencer getting hurt by Hanckel, when Garcia had been shot, Hotch and the Reaper and when Doyle had Emily. But they always made it through, _and we'll make it through this time_ JJ thought, she couldn't even think of losing one of her team. She closed her eyes as the bad memories washed over her. This was the part she hated the most, when she wasn't doing anything. JJ knew that they were going as fast as possible but she still felt so useless, she had no idea what condition the team was in and she couldn't help them.

JJ looked over at Hotch, his face was pulled into a composed mask. His knuckles were white where he was gripping the steering wheel so tight, the only clue he showed that something was seriously wrong. She knew that he felt guilty that the team had been hurt on his watch; he was responsible for them, so he felt responsible for them being in danger now. JJ knew this logic was stupid, he couldn't have known what would happen, but he wouldn't stop blaming himself.

Hotch felt JJ's eyes on him but stayed staring straight ahead.

"Why would the unsub do this?" JJ asked, breaking the tense silence in the car "Bombs don't fit his MO"

"I must have missed something in the profile" Hotch replied, his voice full of anger. He was furious with himself. If he hadn't sent the team out there, if he'd been more thorough with the profile they wouldn't be in this situation. JJ didn't know what to say. She didn't miss that he said "I" instead of we, it was the team's job to create the profile but he was taking complete responsibility.

"Hotch, this wasn't your fault" JJ replied softly. Hotch didn't just reply, just pressed down harder on the accelerator as he saw the building that housed his team come into sight.


	8. Chapter 8

For the entire car journey Garcia had tears streaking down her cheeks, leaving black trails where her mascara had run. She pulled up to the warehouse, her breaks squealing as she skidded to a stop. The warehouse looked in pretty good shape considering a bomb had gone off. There were parts of the building that had obviously fallen down, and black smoke wafted from the back, but it was still standing. Garcia looked around, _where were the backup? _Surely she couldn't be first on the scene. Garcia hesitated for a second thinking _Hotch is gonna kill me _before running into the building, wishing that she hadn't put on heels this morning.

"Rossi, I've got Reid!" Morgan called, still looking concerned at the younger agent. Within seconds Rossi had run into the room, wiping sweat of his forehead. He met Moran's gaze and knew that something was wrong.

"He needs to get to a hospital now" Morgan said forcefully, putting one of Reid's arms around his shoulders and pulling the man to his feet. Throughout their encounter Reid just stared blankly at Rossi, no idea who he was. Reid looked from Rossi back to Morgan, his face clearly asking who the newcomer was.

Rossi rushed over to Reid's other side, going to help Morgan, when Reid shrank away from him. Reid's eyebrows came together as he pulled away from the older man, he didn't like strangers touching him. He trusted Morgan. He didn't trust this man. Rossi was hurt at Reid's behaviour, but he remained professional. He had caught sight of Reid's head wound and understood the reason for his erratic behaviour. Reid and Morgan hobbled put into the corridor, with Rossi hovering behind them.

"I'm gonna get him out of here, keep looking for Emily" Morgan instructed, heading for the exit. Rossi nodded and split of for the pair, worry for their youngest gnawing at his stomach.

Garcia was having trouble making her way through the warehouse, it was dark and musty and confusing. She had no idea where the team were, but she kept going, determined to find them. She was just about to turn left down a hallway when she heard a faint sound to her right. She turned to investigate, and heard it again, coming from a few rooms down. She rushed down the corridor, careful not to trip over her high heels. She rushed around the door, the sight in front of her breaking her heart. Emily lay a few feet in front of her, a handful of rocks in her raised hand. He was lying on her back in a pool of blood, and a scary looking piece of metal sticking out of her thigh. Tears welled up in her eyes again at the sight of her teammate. Garcia rushed over and dropped to her knees, grabbing onto Emily's hands and holding them in her own.

"Hey sweetpea, everything's going to be okay" Garcia reassured as her thumb gently rubbed the back of Emily's hand.

"Garcia?" Emily choked out, her voice small. A small smile spread on Emily's face. _This is ridiculous; I've lost so much blood I'm hallucinating. Garcia can't be here _Emily thought looking at the woman above her. _This is it, I'm dying. I've imagined a friendly face to help me let go. _Emily thought, truly gad that it was Garcia that her subconscious had dreamed up to watch over her, she couldn't imagine anyone better to comfort her in her last moments.

Garcia searched Emily's face, panic welling up inside her. She was completely lost, she didn't have a clue what to do. She was never in this situation; she always stayed in her cyber lair, worrying from afar. She looked into Emily's eyes, a look of peaceful resignation fell over them, before her eyes slowly slid shut.

"No no no no, Emily come on. Open those beautiful eyes for me, please" Garcia begged, her voice breaking on the last word.

**Thanks so much for reading and the great reviews. Let me know what you thought of this**


	9. Chapter 9

**Hi, a few people have said that they wanted the chapters to be longer so I've given it a go, i know this one isn't much longer but the next one should be. Also, people asking about the unsub, be patient, i will get to that! And thanks so much for reading, let me know what you think!**

Rossi continued to search the building, the only person unaccounted for was Emily. He felt exhausted, _being caught in an explosion really takes it out of you _he thought wryly.

"HELP! SOMEONE HELP!" Rossi heard the screaming come from nearby, and he ran to its source. He burst into the room, completely confused by what he saw. Penelope Garcia was crouched on the ground, her bright yellow dress covered in dust and, blood? Garcia's hair was all over the place, and her makeup had run, there were fresh tears on her face. Rossi stepped forward, seeing Emil lying behind Garcia, a large pool of blood lying around her unconscious body.

"Rossi! Oh thank god, Emily's hurt and i don-"Garcia babbled, desperately holding onto Emily's limp hands. Within seconds Rossi had gotten over the initial shock and was back in control.

"Garcia, the medics are on their way right?" he asked urgently

"Yes yes, they should be here any minute"

"Good, I want you to go outside and wait for tm. When they arrive bring them strait to Emily, you understand?" Rossi continued, his voice intense. Garcia looked back at Emily, unwilling to leave her. Rossi stepped forward and grasped her shoulder. "Penelope, I will look after her" he promised. Seeing the determined set of Rossi's face Garcia nodded once before getting to her feet and rushing to the exit.

Rossi kneeled down next to Emily, not caring about her blood staining his clothes. He took of his jacket and wrapped it around her bleeding leg, trying to stem the bleeding. He gently took her hand in his and squeezed, hoping that she could feel the contact.

"Emily, I need you to wake up for me" he said gently staring at her face, but she didn't stir.

"Emily come on, you're going to be okay but I need you to wake up" he begged, unable to take his eyes of her face. But she just laid there, her pale face unmoving.

"Agent Prentiss, wake up. That is an order" he barked, trying a different tactic. Her eyebrows pulled together slightly, her mouth turned into a slight frown. Very slowly, her eyes opened a fraction.

"Hurts" she whimpered, unable to form proper sentences.

"I know, i know it hurts but you've got to stay awake, you've got to stay with me okay" Rossi urged, hope flaring up within him. Emily only whimpered in response, she desperately wanted to go back to sleep, to escape the pain. She attempted to speak twice but it only came out as mumbles, until she managed to ask "The others?"

Rossi smiled, here she was bleeding to death and she was worrying about everyone else.

"They're fine Emily, everyone is okay" he reassured, squeezing her hand again. She smiled, and went back to being silent, using all of her energy to stay conscious.

Morgan and Reid stumbled out of the smoky building, the sunlight momentarily blinding them. Morgan looked around desperately, and saw flashing lights racing towards them. _Finally_ he thought, help would be there within minutes. Morgan looked to his left, a frown spreading across his face when he saw Garcia's car, but no sign of Garcia. _What the hell?_ He thought. Just at that moment Garcia came tumbling out of the building, swearing at herself for wearing such impractical shoes. Morgan looked at her, shocked. She was covered in blood.

"Penelope?" he called, she looked up at him startled, her face pale.

"Derek of god, it- ah i jus- god i can't eve-" she stuttered, unable to describe what had happened to Emily. Before Morgan could even say anything before a black SUV pulled up, accompanied by three ambulances.

Hotch jumped out of the SUV, relieved to see Morgan and Reid looking relatively unharmed, although Reid did have a distant look in his eye Hotch noted with concern. He stopped when he saw Garcia stood next to the pair, looking awful.

"Garcia?" Hotch questioned, his voice hard.

"No time sir!" she shouted as she ran towards the paramedics, forcing them to follow her back into the building. JJ looked at Hotch questioningly, unsure of what was going on.

"Morgan" Hotch said, fixing his gaze on the man who was about to run after Garcia, "You and Reid get checked out by the medics. No arguments." He added when he saw Morgan about to protest. Morgan nodded, knowing he would not win that argument, and helped Reid over to the nearest ambulance.

"JJ with me" Hotch instructed, pulling out his gun and running into the building. Hotch and JJ heard the paramedics shouting medical terms to each other, and followed their voices until they ran into a crowded room. JJ gasped, her outstretched arm holding her gun falling limply to her side. In the room Emily lay with a group of paramedics working on her. Rossi stood a few metres away watching them, his arms around Garcia who was crying softly into his shoulder. Hotch approached Rossi.

"Dave, are you hurt?" Hotch asked, his eyes full of concern.

Rossi shook his head.

"What about Prentiss?" Hotch asked, unable to see her clearly because of the swarm of paramedics around her.

"She was impaled with a piece of metal through her thigh. She lost a lot of blood" he murmured, knowing hearing what bad shape Emily was in would only distress Garcia more. After agonising minutes just stood waiting, the team watched as the paramedics lifted Emily onto a gurney and wheeled her of, the four agents following quickly behind them.


	10. Chapter 10

**First off, sorry this update was so late, I've been ill the last few days. But I hope this chapter makes up for it. As always, let me know what you think!**

Hotch gripped the steering wheel tightly, the sirens of the SUV blaring. In the back JJ was comforting a crying Garcia whilst Rossi sat in the passenger seat. Hotch looked over at Rossi concerned, he had tried to make him go in an ambulance to the hospital but he wouldn't have it, insisting he was not hurt.

As they had left the warehouse Emily was loaded strait onto a waiting ambulance and rushed to the hospital, Garcia had wanted to ride with her but the paramedics insisted that they needed all the room they could to work on her. Minutes later Morgan and Reid left in another ambulance, the paramedics saying something about a serious head injury, but Hotch didn't hear any more details before they also left for the hospital.

The ambulances had a fifteen minute head start on the rest of the team, they had to wait for the local police to show up and take charge of the scene before they could leave. Hotch's foot pressed down harder on the accelerator, his worry doubling now he knew what bad condition some of his team members were in. An agonising thirty minutes past before they pulled up at the hospital, all running to the nurses' station for information.

"Okay Dr Reid I just need to do a few quick tests" a brown haired lady said to him. Reid looked up surprised; he was lying in a bed, in a white, clinical looking room, hooked up to an IV and heart monitor. He looked at the woman as panic welled up inside him.

"Who are you?" he asked, his voice slightly slurred. The woman's eyes furrowed in concern as she looked at her patient.

"I'm Dr Fallon, we met forty minutes ago when you first came in. I took you down for a CT scan, remember?" she asked patiently. Reid shook his head meekly, his eyes wide in fear. He didn't remember meeting this woman at all. He didn't remember arriving at the hospital, or having any scans done. He grasped his bed sheets in his hands and twisted them angrily, his head was a mess of almost there memories and jumbled thoughts. Seeing his distress the Doctor stepped closer and with her most reassuring voice soothed her patient. "It's okay Dr Reid, it's perfectly normal to be confused after a head injury, things will become clearer. Now, I need to do some quick tests, is that okay?"

Reid nodded his head, he was still very confused but he trusted the doctor. She shone a small light into each of his eyes, and then tested how well he could move each of his limbs.

"Right, that's it for now." She said finishing the exercises.

"I'll just get a nurse to give you something for the pain" she said, noticing how occasionally his eyes had screwed up and he tried not to wince.

"Something for the pain?" he repeated, becoming anxious although he didn't know why.

"It'll help" she reassured him

Reid screwed his eyes shut, his breathing increasing as he was attacked by memories.

"_What're you doing? Don't, please don't."Reid asked his eyes wide as Tobias strapped the belt around his arm. _

"_It helps. Don't tell my father, he doesn't know they're here" _

"_Please I don't want it, i don't want it. Please!"_

"_Trust me, i know" Tobias said softly, ignoring Reid's protests as he prepared the needle._

"_Please don't" Reid begged one final time before the needle plunge into his vein. _

"Please, i don't want it! I don't want it, don't, please!" Reid begged, his hands had come up to his face and were clawing at his hair.

"Dr Reid?" The doctor asked, alarmed at her patients behaviour. She grabbed his arms and pulled them away from his head before softly calling his name. His breathing calmed down, his body visibly relaxing as the doctor continued to call to him. Slowly, he opened his eyes, looking at the woman hovering over him.

"N-no drugs" he stammered out, his eyes wide and terrified.

Dr Fallon nodded, not wanting t distress him more by pressing the issue. She picked up her notes and left the room, instructing the nurses to keep a close eye on him.

Morgan sat on the edge of a hospital bed. He was beyond pissed off. The paramedics had whipped Emily of before he could even ask about her condition. Then, they had forced him to leave as they took Reid for a CT scan. The doctor had insisted on checking him out, even though Morgan had assured him he was fine. The doctor had confirmed what Morgan already knew, a few cuts and bruises and a dislocated shoulder that had already been put back in place. The doctor had suggested staying the night for observation, but Morgan had made it quite clear that was not about to happen, so now he was just waiting for his discharge papers.

He was angry, _how did the unsub get ahead of us like that?_ But the more worrying question that was nagging at him was _why are we still alive?_ Morgan was beyond relieved that everyone was okay, although he didn't have any news on Prentiss or Reid, but the unsub they were dealing with was a perfectionist. If they set out to kill someone then that person died. So why set of a bomb that isn't strong enough to bring down the whole Warehouse and kill everyone inside? Just as Morgan began to mull this over, his doctor returned with the paperwork, Morgan momentarily forgetting this alarming trail of thought.

The nurse working at the nurses' station was beyond unhelpful. Even when Hotch pulled out his credentials, she just got more uncooperative. All she would say was that Prentiss was in surgery, and Reid and Moran were being seen to by their doctors. Hotch began to lead the team to the waiting room, tired and irritated. He knew at this point no news was good news, but being so out of the loop was frustrating. Just as he stepped away from the desk, Garcia pushed forward, her eyes blazing.

"You listen to me lady" she growled angrily, her face just inches away from the nurses "those are my best friends you're talking about, so you had better give us some information right now, or I will make it my personal mission to dig up as much dirt on you as I can and-" but before Garcia could finish her threat, she heard laughter from behind her. She whipped her head around, ready to slap anyone who thought her friends well being as a joke, when her eyes settled on Morgan.

"That's my girl" he grinned, walking towards her. Garcia tottered over and pulled him into a hug, so glad to see him again. He pulled her into his chest, one had stroking her hair.

"Do you know how Reid and Prentiss are doing?" Hotch asked as the pair broke the hug.

Morgan's grin faded "No, they rushed Emily strait into surgery and took Reid of for a CT scan, that's all I know" he said sadly.

"Well then, I guess we'll just have to wait." Hotch replied, his voice emotionless.


	11. Chapter 11

Emily felt smothered, as if a thick fog that she couldn't escape was holding her down. She felt torn; just out of reach she could almost see the fluorescent lights. And everything was so loud, people shouting and machines beeping. It was overwhelming. And then, there was the darkness. It was warm and peaceful, almost inviting, but Emily was wary of it. She was tempted to let the darkness envelop her, to drag her down where there was no pain, no confusion, just peaceful rest. It would be so much easier, just to give in.

_No, don't think like that! Keep going, keep fighting, never give up! _

She struggled against the darkness, trying desperately to reach the conscious world. But it was hard, the darkness wrapped itself around her, gently pulling her back. Soft tendrils snaked into her mouth, forcing all of the air from her lungs. Emily panicked and started thrashing wildly, her only thought was that she needed to live.

In reality, Emily didn't thrash around as she fought for her life. She lay perfectly still on the operating table. Her eyes were closed and her breathing was erratic. The surgical team worked above her, barking instructions as they desperately tried to save the young woman's life.

Emily felt herself fading. Distantly she heard someone shout words that she didn't understand, then someone else's quick reply. That was the last thing she heard before the machine started a high pitched beep, the sound of her flat lining.

"Spencer Reid?" A tired looking doctor called to the waiting room. Her eyebrows rose when she saw the group of people rush towards her, but didn't comment. The nurses had already told her how impatient these agents were and she definitely didn't want to rile them. She shook hands with a black haired man who seemed to be in charge before introducing herself.

"I'm Dr Fallon, I'm Spencer's doctor."

"Agent Hotchner" Hotch replied. "What can you tell us?" he asked, getting strait to the point.

"Dr Reid has suffered a serious trauma to his head. We took him down for a CT scan when he arrived, the results show that he has built up fluid which is putting pressure on his brain" Dr Fallon said, taking in the faces of the agents in front of her, mostly they looked confused.

"He is experiencing memory loss, confusion and his speech is slightly slurred. It's possible that he has suffered permanent brain damage." She continued her voice weary. At the words "brain damaged" the team looked amongst themselves, devastated. Silent tears ran down Garcia's face at the thought of her best friend lying in a hospital bed, damaged and scared. They all knew that this would be Reid's worst nightmare.

Dr Fallon saw the panic the group shared before quickly backtracking "I'm not saying he will have brain damage, but it is a possibility. He could make a complete recovery; it's just too early to tell. I will need to keep him in indefinitely for observation."

"Is he conscious?" JJ asked desperately, needing to see Spencer for herself.

The Doctor nodded and gave them Reid's room number. "But remember, he is in a very delicate mental state. He will likely be very disorientated and easily confused, so take it easy."

"One last thing" the doctor added looking at Hotch, "Dr Reid became very distressed when I mentioned pain medication" she said questioningly. Hotch looked grimly at Morgan before turning back to the doctor.

"He has told us all that in a situation like this he does not want to be given any narcotics." Hotch said, unwilling to say much more on the subject. Luckily the doctor seemed to understand, and nodded her head before turning to leave.

"Wait" Rossi called, pushing to the front of the group. "Do you have any information on Emily Prentiss? She was brought in the same time as Dr Reid."

Dr Fallon looked at them, pity for the group clear on her face. "I know that she was taken into surgery in a severe condition, and that the doctors thought her chances were about 50 50, but that's all I know. I will make sure her doctor comes to talk to you as soon as they can." She promised before leaving the waiting room.

The team had decided that only one person should visit Reid, so as not to overwhelm him and eventually JJ had persuaded Morgan that it should be her. Her heart hammered in her chest as she walked down the corridor towards his room, the corridor seemingly endless. Yet all too soon she was stood outside his door, peering in at the young man inside. JJ's breath hitched in her chest as she looked at him. Reid was sat up in the bad, his covers pulled up to his waist. His eyes darted around the room, and his face was contorted in fear. His fingers picked at the hospital band around his left wrist nervously.

"Hey Spence" JJ called as she slowly entered the room, smiling down at her friend.

Reid's head snapped up, his eyes fixed on the blonde. For a moment he looked at her like a total stranger, his big brown eyes swimming with confusion. The lack of recognition broke JJ's heart. After a moment Reid's eyes widened as he continued to stare at her.

"JJ?" he asked quietly. JJ smiled and walked over to Reid's side, sitting down on a chair next to his bed. She grasped his hand tightly in hers.

"Yeah Spence, it's me" she reassured as her thumb stroked the back of his palm.

"I'm scared JJ" he whispered, unable to being anything but completely honest as he looked into her eyes. A lump formed in JJ's throat, she hated to see him look so lost.

"I know" she soothed, much the way she soothed Henry after he woke up from a bad nightmare. "It's going to be okay, I'm here now, I won't let anything happen to you. Everything will be all right." she continued. Reid remained still on the bed just listening to her. For those few minutes he sat and allowed himself to be calmed by her words. When JJ said he would get better, he believed her, he trusted her completely.

**Thank you for reading, please review!**


	12. Chapter 12

Click. Click. Click.

Rossi gritted his teeth in frustration, for the past hour they had been sitting waiting for news on Prentiss. And in this time Garcia had take to clicking her overly bright nails as a way to expel some of her nervous energy.

Click. Click. Click.

Rossi let out a small growl, that clicking was driving him insane. Garcia looked up at the noise, blushing and dropping her gaze when she saw the look on Rossi was giving her, muttering an apology. Rossi was momentarily satisfied that the noise had stopped before feeling guilty. He didn't blame Garcia, they were all scared, he just wished shed choose a less irritating way to show it. Rossi looked over the tense figures in front of him. Hotch was on the phone, apologising to Jack for missing dinner, promising head make it up to the young boy by taking him to the zoo at the weekend. Morgan sat in a chair, head in his hands, completely still. Garcia started flicking through a magazine, turning the pages too quick to really be seeing anything.

Hotch hung up the phone and turned his gaze to Rossi.

"Dave, you really should get checked out by a doctor"

But before Rossi could insist that he was fine someone entered the waiting room. The man looked to be about mid forties. He was bald, and had thick glasses perched on his exhausted face.

"Emily Prentiss"

The team got to their feet and approached the doctor, their stomachs in knots.

"I'll get strait to the point, When Emily came in it didn't look good, but we managed to get her stable." The team let out a relieved breath at his words.

"There were a few complications in surgery, we almost lost her once, but she pulled through. As you know she had a severely injury to her leg. We managed to stop the bleeding, and it should heal without any complications. For the foreseeable future Emily will be unable to walk, but with extensive physical therapy I anticipate a full recovery. It won't be easy and she'll need allot of support."

"So, she's okay?" Garcia asked pitifully, unable to take it all in.

The doctor smiled wearily at her, "Yes, and she's conscious if you'd like to visit her" he said before excusing himself.

Rossi looked around the team, elated at the good news. They had all made it, everyone pulled through, and the team couldn't believe their luck. As they walked up to Emily's room Rossi couldn't help the little nagging voice in the back of his head that maybe they hadn't been lucky at all, maybe they were meant to survive. But he pushed such negative thoughts to the back of his mind for now.

Emily sat up in her bed, closing her eyes for a second. She was not in a good mood to say the least. She had just spoken to the doctor and he had explained how she would be off her feet for a while. _Will I ever be as strong as I was?_ She wondered, looking down at her injured limb. Her job was her life and if she didn't have that...

She felt a little hazy from the pain medication and the nurses kept telling her to rest but Emily was determined to stay conscious for as long as possible. She was scared, though she wouldn't admit it. She remembered the feeling of the darkness closing in on her, and she feared that if she closed her eyes it would be there, waiting.

She was distracted from her morbid thoughts by a light knock on the door, she looked up in time to see Garcia rush into the room and pull her into a strong hug. Prentiss winced in pain as the move had shifted her leg slightly, but Garcia didn't notice. She had tears running down her cheeks and was babbling about how scared shed been. Emily looked back to the door in time to see Morgan walk in, flashing her a smile, followed by Hotch and Rossi.

"Please tell me you've caught this son of a bitch" Prentiss said anyone else could speak. A slight look of guilt flashed across Hotch's face before he regained his composure.

"Were no closer to catching him" he said emotionlessly, looking her strait in the eye. Prentiss swore under her breath.

"Hey, shouldn't you be resting?" Morgan teased, trying to lighten the mood. Prentiss rolled her eyes at him.

"We've tried to tell her" a nurse said from the doorway before entering the room to check Emily's vitals. Prentiss just glared at the nurse in response. Once the nurse left Emily looked around the room properly, noticing the missing faces.

"JJ and Reid?"

"Reid hit his head in the explosion. JJ is with him." Hotch explained. "He's okay" he added, seeing the alarm on Hotch's face. Emily was sceptical; she knew that Reid's injury was probably more serious than he was letting on.

"So everyone made it out alive?" she questioned

"It appears so" Rossi said

"What're the odds..." she trailed of, not believing their good fortune.

"Hmmm" was Rossi's reply

"What?" Garcia asked, sensing the uneasiness of Rossi's answer.

"There's just something bugging me. When this guy does something, he does it properly."

"What do you mean?" Prentiss asked, confused.

"Just think about his profile for a second. If he wanted that building to explode then he would have made sure there was nothing left. But instead he sets of a relatively small explosion."

"What's your point Dave?" Hotch asked, worry growing within him at Rossi's words.

"My point is that if he wanted us to die in that explosion then we'd be dead." The others looked amongst each other uneasily.

"So the point was to injure, not to kill" Moran summarised.

"Okay, but why? What's he planning?" Emily asked. Rossi remained silent, unable to answer her.

**So sorry for the late update! Someone said they wanted to see more Rossi so I've tried to do that in this chapter. I haven't figured the whole story out yet so if there's anything you want to see let me know and I'll try and put it in **** Thank you so so much for reading, please review! **


	13. Chapter 13

JJ looked at Reid's delicate face. She had managed to calm him down and now they were sat in comfortable silence. JJ desperately wanted to help him rebuild his memory, but she didn't quite know how. Her phone buzzed in her pocket, she pulled it out and smiled at the text Will had just sent her.

"Will is bringing Henry to visit tomorrow, he's made you a get well soon card" JJ said proudly. Reid looked at her blankly.

"Who's Henry?" he asked. The lack of recognition when he said Henrys name pulled at her heart.

"He's my son, your godson. Remember?" she replied hopefully. Reid just lowered his eyes and gave a small shake of his head. He felt awful, how could he have forgotten his own godson? JJ would hate him. JJ leaned across and pulled his head back up, forcing him to meet her eye.

"It's okay, the memories will come back." She said confidently. Spencer looked doubtful. JJ pulled her phone back out and scrolled through it for a moment before she found what she was looking for. It was a picture of a laughing Henry perched on Reid's back. It was her favourite picture of them. JJ turned the picture phone around so Reid could see the photo.

"That was the day we went to the park, and Henry insisted that you carry him everywhere" she said, smiling at the memory. Reid stared at the photo for a few minutes, his face intense. Then just like before, the memories hit him from out of nowhere, overwhelming him slightly. He closed his eyes, trying to mentally sort out this new information. JJ was about to call for a nurse, concerned about his strange reaction, when Reid opened his eyes and a smile spread across his face.

"He dropped his first ice cream so we had to buy him another one" he said. JJ's eyes brightened and they beamed at each other, partly remembering the good memory, partly pleased that Reid was able to remember. JJ looked down when her phone buzzed again.

_Em's out of surgery, and giving the nurses hell! Room 468. PG xx_

JJ smiled again, relieved to know that Emily was okay. Reid saw the physical shift in JJ, the way her shoulder relaxed and she let out a tense breath.

"What's happened?" he asked

"Emily's out of surgery, she's okay" JJ replied.

_Emily?_ The name rattled around Spencer's head for a moment before an image of a woman with brown hair came into his mind. He remembered her. Reid smiled at the good news; he was surprised at the sudden feeling of protectiveness over this woman who a few minutes ago he didn't remember existed.

JJ looked to the door uncertainly, she wanted to see Emily for herself, but at the same time she didn't want to leave Reid here alone. Finally she made up her mind, she'd only be gone for ten minutes, and Emily's room wasn't so far away, she could be back here in at a moment's notice. JJ got to her feet.

"I'm just going to go check on Emily quickly. It's just down the hall, I'll be back in ten minutes" she explained, heading out of the door.

Reid stared at the door that JJ had just left through for a minute; he wanted to check on Emily too. He needed to see that she was okay. Without another thought he pulled the IV out and swung his legs over the side of the bed, ready to follow JJ. He slowly got to his feet, using the bed for support. Once he felt confident enough, he took a large step forward, however as soon as he put his weight on his outstretched leg it gave out, leaving him sprawled out on the floor.

In Emily's hospital room a tense silence had fallen over the profilers. They had been discussing the bombers motives and came to the troublesome conclusion that something bigger was at play, something sure to involve them. Although no one had speculated on what the unsub had planned they all knew it would be deadly, and they needed to get ahead of him, but they had no idea how. Hotch mentally cursed himself, the unsub had been ahead of them this whole time. They had only been at that warehouse because of an anonymous tip; it had all been a setup.

The silence was broken by a quiet rap on the door, the profilers looked up to see JJ enter the room. JJ walked straight across the room to Emily's side and pulled her into a tight hug.

"I'm so glad you're okay" JJ whispered in Emily's ear before releasing her. Prentiss smiled up at the blonde agent.

"It'll take more than a bomb to get rid of me" she joked. The others smiled ruefully, knowing how close Prentiss had been to dying.

"How's Reid?" Emily asked. JJ paused for a moment, unsure of how to answer. In truth, she wasn't really sure how he was doing.

"He's getting there" she answered, not giving any more information.

Emily was about to say more when the hospital door burst open, the man who had slammed it open falling to the floor.

"Reid?" Morgan asked incredulously, quickly going to the young man on the floor. Reid rolled over and looked up at Morgan who was now kneeling beside him.

"Morgan?" he replied, his eyes darting around the room.

"What the hell are you doing?" Morgan said, pulling Reid to a sitting position.

"Had to see Emily" he said determinedly, his eyes finally resting on Emily. He tried to get to his feet again but stumbled, Morgan grabbed him before he could fall over again. Hotch went to help Morgan, they got Reid to his feet and half carried him over to the chair by Emily's side. Once sat down Reid let out a large breath, his eyes fluttering. His face was covered in sweat and he looked exhausted.

"Reid, you should be in your bed resting" Hotch lectured the young man sternly. "How did you even get out of your room without the nurses noticing?"

Reid didn't answer, he couldn't form the words. The short journey from his room to Emily's had completely wiped him out, he had stumbled many times but determination had kept him going. He had used his last reserve of energy to get though the door. He looked at Emily once more, a small smile on his lips, before his eyes fluttered shut.

**Thank you for reading! And thank you for your ideas, i will try to include them. ****EmilyPrentiss2012****- there won't be any Prentiss / Morgan, sorry!**

**Please let me know what you thought of this chapter **


	14. Chapter 14

"What the hell?" Morgan muttered. The team were staring incredulously at Reid, who had curled up in the chair next to Emily's bed and fallen asleep.

Rossi chuckled, "Remind me not to underestimate him in future." A stern frown spread across Hotch's face as he looked down at the sleeping agent.

"I can't believe the nurses didn't see him, I mean he's not exactly steady on his feet" JJ said from the corner.

"They're undermanned and overworked. Plus, I'm sure Reid can be pretty crafty when he wants to be" Rossi said fairly.

"He shouldn't be wondering around the hospital in his condition. I'll go get a nurse to take him back to his room." Hotch said, making for the door.

"C'mon Aaron, let the kid sleep." Rossi chided. Hotch noted Rossi's amused tone and turned to look at him.

"This isn't a joke Dave, he's suffered a major head trauma, he could have brain damage!"

Emily took in a surprised breath, she didn't realise that Reid had been so badly injured. Rossi held Hotch's gaze.

"I know that Aaron, but look at him, he's exhausted. I don't think letting him stay here for a bit will do any harm."

"I'm not sure the doctor would agree" Hotch replied, but let the matter go. Secretly he found himself relieved to have the whole team in one room where he could watch over all of them. Garcia smiled down at the sleeping man and gently brushed a strand of hair from his face. Morgan stood next to Garcia, smiling at the interaction.

A light tap on the door brought the team out of their thoughts; they all looked to the door. An unfamiliar nurse walked in carrying an envelope. She hovered in the door, looking unsure of herself.

"Errr, are you the uhh, the FBI?" she asked nervously, her eyes darting around the room, unsure of who to address. Hotch stepped forward, pulling out his credentials.

"I'm SSA Aaron Hotchner, can I help you?" he said fixing his stern glare on the woman.

"Oh okay umm, well this was left for you at reception. Umm there you go" she said, shyly handing Hotch the envelope in her hand before leaving the room as quickly as possible. Hotch held the package in his hand, looking down at it confused.

"What is it?" Morgan asked, moving towards Hotch. Hotch just shook his head, signalling he didn't know, before carefully opening the envelope. He pulled out a piece of paper, his eyebrows pulling together in anger as he read it, before wordlessly showing it to the rest of the team.

**I COULD HAVE KILLED THEM. NEXT TIME THERE WILL BE NO SURIVIORS.**

The team shared panicked glances, none of them speaking. It was as they had suspected, the unsub had deadly plans still for the BAU.

* * *

Reid slowly began to regain consciousness. His eyelids slowly began to open, the harsh sunlight making his face contort in discomfort. He became aware of a pounding in his head, as well as a dull throb coming from his arm. He moaned slightly as the room in front of him came into focus.

"Hey there sleeping beauty" a teasing voice said. Reid looked over to his left where the voice had come from, meeting a pair of amused brown eyes. He looked at the woman for a moment before it clicked. Emily.

"Emily" he said pitifully, still half asleep.

"Hey there" she said softly

"You're okay?" Reid questioned, becoming more alert. He looked down her body, looking for signs of injury, her leg was heavily bandaged but that seemed to be it.

"I'm fine Reid, how are you feeling?" Emily asked, concerned.

"Hurts" he replied pitifully.

"Well that's what happens when you decide to go for a stroll around the hospital" a new, stern voice said. Reid looked up at this new voice, seeing an authoritative, tired looking woman stood at the end of his bed. His face pulled together in confusion for a second before he remembered, Doctor Fallon.

"Stroll around the hospital?" Reid questioned innocently, having no idea what she was talking about.

"It seems that you decided to leave your hospital bed to visit Miss Prentiss here" the doctor replied, looking less than amused. Prentiss looked sheepishly at the doctor, unsure if she should say anything.

"I did?" Reid asked, a little embarrassed.

Doctor Fallen nodded before softening her gaze. "Obviously you are suffering from the effects of your head wound, so I doubt you were in your right mind when you decided to go walk about. But it is imperative that you stay in bed and rest."

Reid nodded his head, agreeing with the doctor. She had been very nice to him, but he got the feeling that she was not someone he should annoy.

"As you can see" Doctor Fallon continued, gesturing to Reid in his bed "You have been moved to share a room with agent Prentiss here"

"Why?" Reid asked confused. The doctor and Emily shared a look before the doctor turned back to Reid and jokingly said.

"So that Emily can make sure you don't wonder of again."

Reid was about to cut in with something but the doctor was quicker.

"I've run a few more tests, and it seems that the swelling around your brain has started to reduce."

"That's good news?" Reid asked, trying to draw up his vast knowledge of head injuries but finding his mind blank.

"It's a good sign" the doctor said noncommittally. Reid just nodded, knowing the doctor wouldn't make any promises. The doctor asked if there was anything else they needed before leaving. Reid turned to lay on his said so he was facing Emily before asking "Where's the rest of the team?"

"They went to get some food." Emily replied, not completely meeting Reid's eye. She felt bad, she desperately wanted to tell him about the letter they had received, but the team had agreed to tell Reid when he was feeling better, they didn't want to put unnecessary stress on him when his mind was so fragile.

* * *

"I hate secrets!" Garcia complained, looking at Hotch. They all sat in the hospital cafeteria on a large table, away from anyone else. JJ rolled her eyes, they had been through this a thousand times.

"I know baby, but Reid's mental state is too delicate right now, we can't put this on him." Morgan said gently, taking Garcia's hand.

"Even the doctor said that telling him right now would do more harm than good" Rossi chipped in. Garcia lowered her head, grumbling about how she hated to lie. Hotch looked about his team, worry pitting in his stomach, he would be damned if he let this unsub hurt anyone else.

"Okay, here's what were going to do. Garcia, I want you looking back over past cases, look for anyone with a grudge against the BAU with a similar MO to this case. Check people we might have put away who have just been released, or any family members of people connected to a case. JJ, I want you to get a rush on the envelope, see if there's any prints on it. Once you've done that check security footage of the hospital entrance and talk to the nurse who brought up the envelope. Morgan, I want you to head over to the last crime scene, the warehouse, look for anything that'll tell us who this guy is. Rossi and I will start building a preliminary profile. Understood?"

Everyone nodded their understanding that they knew what to do.

"Sir, what about Emily and Reid?" Garcia asked.

"We've moved them into the same room so they'll be easier to protect, and we've got armed guards outside their room checking everyone who comes in and out. They're safe." Hotch reassured her before adding "Remember, this guy has made it clear that each of us has a target above our head, so be careful. No unnecessary risks."

The team nodded before getting up and leaving the cafeteria, heading to their assigned tasks.

**Thanks for reading, please review. **


	15. Chapter 15

Rossi sat at a small table, his brows creased as he thought. Hotch paced the small room, trying to walk out his frustration. They were in a small room a few doors down from Reid and Prentiss that was used as a small waiting room for families, though Hotch and Rossi were the only people occupying the room. They could have gone back to the BAU to work but both agreed to stay close to Reid and Prentiss.

"Okay, so this guy clearly has issues with the BAU" Rossi said, looking up at Hotch.

"And there was no sexual element to the crime, so this is motivated by revenge" Hotch mused.

"What was the point of launching an initial, non-fatal attack, only to kill us later?" Rossi asked

"Clearly the explosion served a purpose to him"

"But what? And why a bomb? That would be hard to control, one of us could have gotten too close to the device and died." Rossi said. Hotch slowed his pacing to look down at Rossi.

"He had to have eyes in the warehouse. He couldn't have known the exact minute you guys would enter..."

"Unless he was watching" Rossi finished Hotch's sentence.

"Okay, so he's either got cameras in there or he waited nearby" Hotch and Rossi agreed. Hotch pulled out his phone to call Morgan, telling him the conclusion that he and Rossi had come to.

"Morgan, look for any sign of cameras in the warehouse, or look outside for where the unsub could hide and wait. Let me know what you find." Hotch said urgently.

"Will do" Morgan said down the phone before relaying to Hotch what he had already found.

"What did he find?" Rossi asked when Hotch had hung up.

"A number of small detonators placed in strategic places around the building. Morgan said they looked pretty professional, this guy knew what he was doing."

"Okay, so he's organised and he knows what he's doing. It's likely he's been to prison. And he's patient, he could have taken us out at the Warehouse but didn't, so it's likely he's got an endgame planned. " Rossi thought out loud, Hotch nodded his agreement.

It was silent for a moment before JJ walked briskly into the room, her ponytail swishing as she walked.

"I just heard back from the lab, no prints on the envelope. I also looked at the security footage; all you can see is a guy of average height and build dropping of the letter. He always keeps his back to the cameras."

"Smart unsub." Rossi commented.

"So he knows where the cameras in the hospital are, he must have done pre surveillance" Hotch said, frowning.

"If this guy has been doing pre surveillance then do you really think that Emily and Reid are safe here?" JJ questioned her big eyes full of worry.

"No, they're not, there's too many people coming and going. The unsub will know that and use it to his advantage." Hotch replied, looking worriedly down the hall at Emily and Reid's door.

"But what can we do? They're in no state to leave the hospital yet" Rossi argued. Hotch just let out a breath of frustration and resumed pacing; he didn't know what to do.

* * *

"Reid, what's wrong?" Emily asked, concerned. She had been watching Reid stare at the wall in front of him for ten minutes, looking more frustrated every minute that passed. Reid looked around, startled by the sudden break in silence.

"Nothing" he muttered, looking away from Emily.

"C'mon Reid, I know it's not nothing. You can talk to me, you know that right?" Emily said softly, still staring at Reid.

Reid let out an exasperated sigh before turning his body to face Emily.

"It's just frustrating. I keep getting flashes of memories but then they're gone and..." Reid trailed of, balling up the bed sheets in his hands. Emily looked at him with sympathy; she couldn't imagine how hard this was for him. The room yet again fell into silence; Emily didn't know what to say to make Reid feel better, so she let her mind wander. She was thinking about when she joined the BAU, a funny memory came to her and she started to chuckle. Reid looked up from his gloomy thoughts at the amused face of his co-worker.

"What's funny?" he asked.

"I was just thinking of that time I walked into the bullpen and was hit on the head by your physics magic" she said, the humour heavy in her voice. Reid was surprised when the memory came straight to him, and his cheeks reddened with embarrassment.

"I remember, sorry about that by the way" he said, trying to contain his laughter.

"I thought Hotch was going to kill you" Emily said, still laughing. Reid remembered the look on Hotch's face when he entered the bullpen and laughed with her, he had been sure that Hotch would kill him too. Reid looked up, completely shocked when something soft smacked him in the face. Emily bent over, laughing hysterically at the surprised look on Reid's face when she threw the pillow at him.

"What was that for?" he whined

"Payback for hitting me in the head" Emily replied between laughs. Reid looked around, a mischievous glint in his eye before throwing the pillow back at her. Although Emily tried to duck, her bandaged leg limited her mobility and the pillow hit her square in the face. Emily looked up, holding Reid's eye for a moment before they both doubled over laughing.

**Thanks for reading! Please review. **


	16. Chapter 16

"Oh you poor men, standing there all night! You must be exhausted!" an older nurse exclaimed in a motherly way to the guards stood outside Reid and Prentiss's room.

"It's our job ma'am" one of the guards replied, his stance unwavering.

"Of course, can I get you anything? I was just making coffee" she replied, looking kindly at them. The guards hesitated for a second before nodding gratefully at the nurse. She smiled at them before leaving, promising to be back with their drinks soon.

* * *

Hotch, Rossi and JJ sat in their small room, staring at the walls. The situation was bad, and they knew it. The buzz of Hotch's phone broke the tense silence.

"Garcia you're on speaker. Tell me you've got something." Hotch said as he answered the phone.

"I'm sorry sir but I'm drawing a blank. There's no one with this MO who has recently been released."

"What about angry family members looking for revenge?" Rossi asked

"Okay, do you realise how many people could have a grudge against us? It is a scarily long list, I need more to work with" Garcia replied sadly.

"We're working on it Garcia" Hotch said before hanging up. He brought his hand to his face and pinched the bridge of his nose, closing his eyes. He felt so frustrated and helpless, and he couldn't help but compare the situation to the Foyet case. How utterly helpless he felt in that car, knowing that no matter how fast he drove it wouldn't be quick enough. Hotch tried to push those memories away, this time would be different he told himself. JJ and Rossi shared concerned glances but remained silent, this was hard for everyone.

"JJ, send the CCTV footage room the hospital entrance to Garcia. She might be able to get something useful of it." Hotch said, his voice barely concealing his anger. He was furious at himself, he should have had the footage sent strait to Garcia to analyse. He was getting sloppy, his mind constantly wondering about the wellbeing of his team instead of the case. JJ nodded and left the room.

* * *

Morgan got out of the SUV and walked purposefully to the hospital. His shoulder throbbed but he tried to ignore the pain, knowing that his injuries could have been a lot worse. He weaved his way through the busy entrance; heading straight to the elevator that would take him to Reid and Prentiss' floor.

Morgan was glad when he found himself alone in the elevator. He allowed himself a few moments to relax. He closed his eyes and lean against the cool metal wall. He felt exhausted, his body screamed at him to rest, but he ignored it. He wouldn't rest until the unsub was caught.

* * *

Emily sat up in her hospital bed, a small smile still playing at her lips after her and Reid's pillow fight. A short while ago an angry looking nurse had come in and told them to settle down, that they needed their rest. Emily had wanted desperately to snap at the nurse but had held back, aggravating the staff would do no good. So now the air sat in a comfortable silence. Emily looked over at Reid, the small smile spreading across her face. He looked like was about to fall asleep any second, every time he blinked his eyes stayed shut for a longer time than before. Emily chuckled when, as she had predicted, Reid's eyes stayed shut and his breathing deepened.

Prentiss turned her gaze away from her sleeping co-worker to look around. The blinds on the window were drawn shut, and the door was closed. The only view she had was the four walls she was surrounded by. Emily tapped her fingers unconsciously against the metal rail of her bed. She was bored.

More than anything Emily wanted to be with the team, working the case. She felt to out of the loop, she wanted to help catch the bastard that put her in the hospital. She briefly considered getting a nurse to wheel her down to the room she knew Hotch and Rossi were occupying so she could get an update but decided against it. For one she seriously doubted any nurse would let her leave her bed, and for a second even if a nurse did agree the resulting movement would probably wake Reid. Prentiss looked over again at Reid, his mouth hung open slightly and she could see his eyes moving beneath his eyelids. She felt a pang of guilt for lying to him, she knew he would be pissed when he found out, but it was the right thing to do.

Emily wondered briefly about how much easier it would be to solve the case with Reid's help. She knew he held so much knowledge and often thought up links that the rest of them hadn't even considered. She knew that the team would solve the case without him, but would they do it as quickly?

* * *

Morgan considered checking in on Reid and Prentiss but decided against it, the news he had was important and he couldn't waste time. He would see them later. He strode into the small waiting room that the team had been using, just in time to hear Hotch answer the phone and Garcia's bubbly voice echo through the room.

"Okay friends, I come bearing news" Garcia babbled, "I went through the footage that JJ sent me, I wasn't able to catch their face but I was able to run my software on it and, yeah I won't bore you with the details but here's the thing. Our unsub is 5'4."

"He's 5'4?" Rossi questioned, his eyebrows pulling together.

"I got something too" Morgan said, stepping further into the room. "We found prints behind some bushes by the warehouse where the unsub would have a good view of us entering but remain out of sight. The prints we got, they're a size 5."

"Our unsub had size 5 feet and is 5'4? You know what this means right?" Rossi said, looking at Hotch.

"Our unsub is a woman." Hotch replied, his face unreadable.

**Sorry it took me so long to update, hopefully you'll enjoy this chapter! Let me know what you think :)**


	17. Chapter 17

**Hey guys, so sorry that it's taken me so long to update, ive been pretty ill lately. But anyways, here's a new chapter for you guys!**

"Okay Garcia, I need you to make a new list, any women who might hold a grudge against the BAU" Hotch said, the first to recover from the news.

"On it" she said determinedly before hanging up.

The team looked amongst one another, disbelief clearly written on all of their faces, female unsubs were very rare.

"We need to tell Prentiss" Rossi said, looking at Hotch.

"What about Reid?" Morgan asked

"The doctor said we shouldn't tell him anything, it'll stress him out"

"For all we know the doctor could be the unsub!" Morgan protested

"Morgan" Rossi warned

"I just think it's time we told him, that's all" Morgan said, lowering his voice. JJ stood in the corner, listening to them talk. She agreed with Morgan that Reid shouldn't be kept in the dark anymore, but she worried about him. What if his mind couldn't take it and it pushed him over the edge? Could they take such a risk with his health?

Hotch looked from Rossi to Morgan, then to JJ. None of the agents said anything; they just looked at him questioningly. Hotch let out a tense breath, knowing the decision would have to come from him.

"Here's what we'll do. We're going to visit Reid and Prentiss, and whilst there we'll evaluate Reid's mental state. If I think he can handle it, then I'll tell him. If not then we keep it a secret."

Hotch looked to his teammates for their approval of his plan. Rossi nodded, and picked up his jacket. Morgan looked unhappy still but didn't say anything. JJ's face remained blank as she walked across the room, the first to leave by the small door.

* * *

Emily leaned back against her bed, her eyes closing for a second. Reid had been asleep for at least an hour. Emily had tried to sleep also but she couldn't, she was wide awake. She had tried to keep her mind busy but it always settled on one thing she didn't want to think about. Her injury. She cautiously touched her bandaged leg, expecting it to flare up in pain, but she felt nothing. Must be the painkillers she thought. Prentiss had tried to put on a brave face so far but inside she was a mess. She was worried about her leg, would it ever fully recover? Would she be allowed back in the field again?

Prentiss tried to push the self pity away, it could have been so much worse. She cringed when she thought of how close she had come to dying. That's twice now, she thought, maybe third time I won't be so lucky.

Before Emily could dwell on these depressing thoughts a light knock of her door caught her attention. The sight of Hotch, Rossi and JJ filing in made her smile until she saw the serious looks on their face; this wasn't a social visit then.

Before Emily could ask what was going on Reid moaned slightly, his eyes opening slowly. Her questions would have to wait.

"Hey there pretty boy, how're you feeling?" Morgan asked cheerfully, flinging himself onto a chair between Reid and Prentiss' bed.

"Better" Reid mumbled, still half asleep. He stretched his arms and pulled himself into a sitting position. JJ went to Reid's other side and grasped hi hand, smiling at the young man. A slight blush crept into Reid's cheeks at the attention he was receiving.

"Any leads?" Reid asked, rubbing his eyes. Emily noted how Morgan and JJ looked briefly to Hotch before Morgan jokingly said "Hey hey, you should be focused on getting better, not working."

Emily remained silent, taking in the situation. Clearly something had happened, but they weren't saying anything yet. Curiosity burned within her but she knew not to push it.

"The doctor said the swelling around my brain has gone down" Reid said proudly

"That's great news Spence" JJ said, squeezing his hand.

"So I'm getting better, so whatever it is your hiding you can tell me. I can take it." Reid said firmly, fixing his stare on Hotch.

The team looked unsure for a moment, taken off guard by Reid's boldness.

"You gotta give it to the kid, he's a good profiler." Rossi chuckled, easing the tension in the room. Reid continued to stare at Hotch. After a moment Hotch dropped his gaze, giving in.

"We received a letter from the unsub. It said that next time there would be no survivors." Hotch paused after saying this, giving Reid time to process this information. Reid looked over at Emily, suspicion clear in his eyes.

"You knew" he said softly.

"Reid man, we couldn't tell you. You were too fragile" Morgan said. Reid looked to each of the team members, seeing only concern for him on their faces. He pushed his anger down within himself; he knew they had only lied to protect him. Reid nodded at Morgan, silently telling him that it was okay, he wasn't mad.

"What else is there?" Emily asked, barely keeping hold of her patience. She knew they had news the minute they stepped through the door, and she was desperate to know what it was.

"Our unsub is a woman" Hotch said seriously, looking between the two injured agents, gauging their reaction. Both looked shocked for a moment before regaining their composure.

"A woman?" Emily questioned. Hotch nodded solemnly.

"Any leads on who she is?" Prentiss asked. Hotch dropped his gaze, angry that they had so little.

"Not yet" Rossi said.

Reid sat up in his bed, remaining silent. Although he did feel much better, he wasn't back to normal, and the frustration was building up within him. He knew he could contribute to the case but he couldn't see this case strait. He got brief flashes rushing through his mind, it was as if the answer was in front of him but just out of reach.


End file.
